The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-11
G0THAMS GREAT RESORT
COMFY ISLAND AND THE PEOPLE
WHO GO THERE.

Millionaire and a Gambler Figure
A Bet Which Was Quickly Won.
New YORK, July EVERY twenty-foul
hours from now until the cooler weather
comes a dailvaverageo of $4,000 or more New
Workers will leave the city to get fresh air
at the neighboring seaside places. ConeJ
Island, the most famous of American sea-
side resorts, will get the majority of thip
immense traffic. The iron steamers, each
capable of carrying 1000 passengers, make
seventeen trips day. The Bay Ridge
route, half steamer and half rail, transports
its immense complement of pleasure-seek-
ers, and lines of railway from Long Island
City and Brooklyn take thousands of ex-
cursionists through paradises of gardens
and green trees to the cool shores of the
island. 1t is remarkable that so few acct
dents occur on these many lines of travel.
Steamboats, densely crowded and rushing at
full speed through the dense fog that rise SO
suddenly on the waters of the bay traverse
the track of scores of vessels, and trains of
open cars peopled with passengers as thckly
as they can sit, run at the rate OF ~ to 5U
miles an hour over the confusing labyrinth
of tracks, leading to the island, but about
that have occurred since the great watering
place of Coney Island was opened in 1878
have been those of little children in arms,
who have expired from the sutfOcating heat
OF the great crowds. Another notable fact
is the absence in latter years of drunken
fights on the lines of travel leading to and
from tine island Anyone who has SOC. at
hand can make the trip, and the cheapnesS
of the luxury invites a miscellaneous crowd,
COLI a4atsN a4
feet in the salt sea air that quellS the quar-
relsomeness of the tough" Yet one is con
stantlv reminded that the tough is abroad
This was eXemplified few evenings ago by
an incident that happened i'll one of the
coaches that ply between the iron piers at
one end of the island and the Brighton
Beach Hotel about half the distance up the
beach The Coney Island hacknan hasn't
vet learned the system of exorbitant charges
that distinguished the Niagara Jehu, and the
fare is only &c On the night in question
the conductor came around with the usual
call of Fares, please" A young man with
keen, restless eyes, said: 81 paid you my
fare" To the establishment of the other
passengers the conductor called the young
man a liar and said in forcible languarge
"'Oh, know your game! Fork over or
I'll throw We out" The young man forked
over Later one of the force of Pinkerton's
detectives who guard the more aristocratic
end of the Island drove the young man
away under pain of arrest as a suspicious
character. He sought refuge on that part
of the shore patroled by the eighty police
of the Gravesend force, and they compelled
him to take a train and return to New
York. He is famous sneak thief and pick
pocket.
The police surveillance Of Coney Island is
now so perfect that dissolute characters
have in the main. been driven away, and all
the gambling bells, which last season dis
graced the place, are closed.
No where in America can such a cosmo-
politan crowd be seen. On one of the
steamers bound to the island few after
moons ago, was an Indian, two Turks wear
ing their red turbans, and smoking cigar
cites of Turkish tobacco, a well to-do Chi
naman, glorious in lavender-colored robe.
black trousers and gaily-embroidered,
wooden-soled shoes, an Italian band of mu-
sicians, several Hebrews talking in their ma
tive tongue, no end of Germans, and Ameri-
cans and Irish almost innumerable. At the
rear of the steamer sat two dark-featured.
marvelously handsome ladies, with great
blazing black eyes They were dressed in ex-
quisite taste and were earnestly talking in u
peculiarly musical tongue with dark com
plexioned young man. They were Creoles
from New Orleans, and the ladies were
voted the most beautiful ever seen at Coney
Island
Four big hotels on the Island serve an av-
erage of 5000 meals each day, to say moth
ing of the vast quantities OF cheap lunch
cons sold at the lunch booths. Even an old
habitue of the resort cannot quite discover
how all these provisions reach it. The
steamers seem to carry little or no freight
and no one ever sees a freight or express
train carrying goods to the great caravan
saries Nevertheless tons of fresh and very
palatable food go down daily from New
York and it appears to reach its destination
as if by magic. Gallons of champagne of
the finest brands, barrels of beer and thou
sands of cigars are consumed there daily
One hotel sold $1,000 worth of meals on the
Fourth OF July, and three of the largest
houses get not less than 81 80 for each meal
served.
1t is a matter of mystery, too, where all
the walters that scamper through the din
ing rooms are found. The old habitue of
prominent hotels will discover that they have
been drafted from houses all over the Union.
They are an oddly assorted lot, ranging all
the way IRON the short jacket waiter from
a Western restaurant to the benign, elderly
appearing, old servitor from an uptown
New York hotel They are inclined to be
independent and to take the guests most
liberal fee without so much as a Thank
you" Some of them have been going to
Coney Island ever since it became popular
resort nearly decade ago, and several OF
them are reported to be well-to-do as the the
fruit Of their tips
Thousands OF concert singers, shouters for
shows and photograh galleries and en-
ployes of the six -go-rounds and other
catch-penny devices live constantly al
Coney Island during the season. The lodg
ing accommodations, aside from the big no
tells, are limited and one is led TO wonder
where this vast army of outsiders sleep.
That they are not given TO devotional exer.
cises OF literature is proven by the absence
OF churches or book stores, but that many
persons nave to take drugs to counteract
the effects OF the violent liquors sold at the
resort, and the imprudent eating so preva.
lent there is atteSted by the several little cir
cular drug stores scattered along the shore
Each Of the principal hotels has displayed in
its Office the sign of resident physician
and the practice is SO lucrative that skilled
doctors crave the appointment which comes
at the hands of the hotel manager Coney
Island is "a great place and it has great no.
tells, but at least one Of the merry go rounds
is accredited with making more clear profit
than any house on the shore.
AMOS j. CUMMINGS.